Both obsessions and compulsions involve unpleasant and intrusive thoughts, emotions, impulses, and doubts; however, obsessions involve unpleasant and disturbing ideas, emotions, desires, and doubts, whereas compulsions involve recurrent physical or mental activities undertaken in an effort to relieve discomfort and anxiety. Nearly everyone has overheard someone proclaiming that they are “so OCD” because they prefer to keep things orderly and neat or because they wash their hands before eating every meal. Since coping with OCD in real life is a severe disorder, you should never say something like that to someone who has the disease.
Learn more about contamination OCD, along with the ten indications that might point you in the right direction for diagnosis.
What Exactly is OCD Associated With Contamination?
Contamination agents Infection-related compulsions are a prevalent subtype of OCD, in which an individual is preoccupied with their own or other people’s risk of being ill. Fears, visuals, intrusive thoughts, and even images relating to these issues cause the person to experience severe anxiety and discomfort, which they attempt to soothe by engaging in compulsive behavior such as avoiding crowded situations as much as possible or washing their hands an excessive amount.
You Should Keep an Eye Out for These 10 Signs of Contamination OCD
Always keep in mind that it is necessary to seek the assistance of a professional in order to understand oneself better! In light of this, the following is a list of questions in the form of typical thoughts and actions that may suggest that a person may be suffering from contamination OCD:
1. Do you avoid or are you afraid of those who could be ill or whom you consider to be unclean?
2. Do you have concerns about becoming contaminated by other people, about being polluted by other people, or about multiple instances of any of these?
3. When you’re out from home, particularly in public places, do you remain hypervigilant regarding what you touch?
4. Do you avoid individuals who might appear to have undesirable or unlikable traits? Do you dread or avoid items that contain essences of ill luck?
5. Are you concerned that ill luck may “magically” attach itself to you through unlucky numbers or things that have been linked to unfortunate occurrences?
6. Do you have concerns about getting poisoned by common home chemicals, or do you have concerns about accidentally poisoning other people?
7. Do you frequently wonder aloud whether the people around you could be infected with something?
8. After coming into touch with a potentially contaminated chemical, do you engage in any complex or reoccurring procedures to cleanse yourself?
9. Do you have locations in your house that you consider to be “clean” or “safe” and that others are not permitted to enter or touch?
10. Do you often clean your hands and your private items with hand disinfectant and alcohol wipes, and do you carry these products with you?
As mentioned earlier, getting assistance from a trained specialist is required in order to receive the best support.
